The brutal attack occurred in June 2011 after the homeless man, Daniel Bolding, approached Lee's car at a stoplight. For reasons that remain unclear, Bolding showed his sexually explicit tattoo—of a stick figure couple having sex—to Lee and his fiancee. Lee, a former kick-boxer, drove away, but returned with a friend and "beat [Bolding] down" with a tire iron.

During closing arguments Wednesday, the defense attorney and prosecutor said the outcome of the case depended on whether the jury believed Lee was the one who wielded the tire iron. "This case is not 'Who did it?'" Deputy Dist. Atty. Bobby Zoumberakis told the jury. "It's 'Who did what?'"

Phillip Kent Cohen, Lee's attorney, said he and the prosecutor agreed on "96% of what happened: that there was a tire iron and that [Bolding] was given great bodily injury." But Cohen said his client never held the tire iron, and he attempted to cast doubt on the testimony of witnesses who identified Lee as the attacker, including saying that Bolding had "flat-out lied."

After two days of deliberation, the jury found Lee guilty. LA County Superior Court Judge Henry Hall said he considered Lee a "threat to the community" and noted evidence that showed Lee tried to intimidate witnesses.

Lee was remanded without bail and will be sentenced January 14. He faces seven years in state prison.